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– If there’s one thing that can comfort fans of standout fitness instructor Stacey Griffith these days, it’s the barely known person who knows how to make an unqualified apology. “I want to apologize to my heart for my recent actions in receiving the vaccine,” the SoulCycle instructor wrote on Instagram. “I made a terrible mistake and I’m sorry about that.” While apologizing, Griffith ended up in hot water over her COVID vaccination – specifically how she cut in line to get it. Coverage:
- The shot: The 52-year-old boasted in an Instagram post that has since been removed that she received the first dose of “Modern magic” in Staten Island, the Washington Post. She also thanked a few people for helping her explore the paperwork. The setback was quick and furious, and critics wondered how and why a SoulCycle instructor in front of health workers, the elderly, teachers, etc., who was still waiting for their shots, jumped People. Fitness instructors are not supposed to be among those currently being shot in New York.
- Her defense: Griffith initially defended herself, telling the Daily Beast that she was an ‘educator’ on her own. “It is my priority to make my community and their respiratory systems work on a daily basis so that they can defeat this virus if they become infected,” she said. “I can only teach them if I’m healthy myself.”
- Company responds: The justification did not help critics, including New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I don’t think anyone who shows up and says, ‘Hey, I’m a SoulCycle instructor’ should have qualified unless there was another factor, ‘” he says. It should have been caught up in the application process. “SoulCycle itself responded to the controversy by declaring that its instructors were not ‘educators’ and should not do what Griffith did,” Vox said. shows that Griffith acted on her own.
- Bigger picture: The Vox message by Alex Abad-Santos views the controversy as part of a larger issue. “Although there are rules about who can get the vaccine, prosperity and well-connectedness can help someone jump the line.” It does not help that SoulCycle is generally seen as a luxury product for affluent people. “That Griffith can get the vaccine symbolizes how easy it can be for rich people to get what they want, before everyone else, especially those who qualify according to NYC’s guidelines and have not yet been able to plan an appointment.”
(Read more SoulCycle stories.)